But for now, I have a Gun Powder Green (Chinese) tea with Sage and a simple Sencha Green (Japanese) tea waiting for me to DUE (Discover, Uncover, Explore)!
I am not a big green tea fan...okay, I don't like it...at all. But I'm working my way through the different types of teas out there, their unique characteristics and value to the tea world and the public at large. So I picked two of the top Greens from China and Japan...
~pause while I go try them
Okay, I just tried them...AND ~ I still don't like green tea. :) BUT because I've developed a better appreciation for the smell of tea. (Rabbit Trail~~~I just found an intriguing Vanilla Rooibos that smells and taste exactly like cigars at the boardwalk~ a beloved smell from my childhood!)
Anyway, for this PART ONE I'll focus on the Japanese Green Tea:
I enjoyed the smell of the Sencha, it both smells and looks like young cut grass. The color? It's what green should look like, not deep or light but the words "pure green" or "true green" come to mind. It's a beautiful color.
I purchased this Japanese green tea (along with a number of fun teas I'll review) from Rebecca's Natural Food in Charlottesville. The store has a vast variety of teas, both loose leaf and bagged and a knowledgeable staff. In fact, I met a transplanted lass from Ireland, named Brianne. A true tea lover herself (I could tell from the way her eyes lit up as we talked about tea) Brianne gave me some great suggestions to try in both the green tea department, as well as some black teas to try in the future. (It was so funny to meet and get to talk with her as I'd just, the night before, come across an Irish tea sommelier who described the Irish black tea as almost coffee-like in its darkness. Brianne, true to her heritage, steeps her black tea for up to 45min! (The usual is 2-5 minutes depending on the company/brew and, of course, preference).
From the same store I found a wonderful Green tea I will endeavor to keep in stock called "Acai Green Tea" (not sure yet Japan or China). It has a berriness to it, unlike Strawberry, maybe Raspberry and some pink flower looking things, Pomegranate? Seems like I've got a few questions to ask about this one, but it's too good to wait to review, as I'm reviewing Green teas.
The smell is definitely berry. Don't let that turn you away, I'm not a berry person, but I like it. Very different from any tea I've had so far. I normally find either a blend is smooth with distinct taste or the blend has so much going on that it obliterates the individual taste of the teas being blended together and is rendered pointless. In this case, the taste is almost like the berry is doing a yin yang thing with the green tea aspects of it. Another way to put it, the focus of taste shifts, but not jarringly, it's a smooth transition that is not "first you taste this, then you taste that", rather you taste them together, but you don't lose each in the blend.
Conclusion...just because you don't like a particular tea category, don't dismiss the category all together! Be adventurous! AND, because I only wanted a spot of tea to try, lest I don't like it and waste it, I only bought a few teaspoons of several different teas from Rebecca's Natural Food's store, paying around $3.60 for 5 different types of tea! Can't beat that!
*Suggestion and Professional Courtesy* ~ If you want to try loose leaf teas in this manner, bring in your own little baggies (I brought my zip lock snack baggies). Most stores selling loose leaf have high quality, thick baggies to put the leaves in, but if you only want a little, it's a kindness you can return to the store for the privilege and luxury of getting to buy teas at less than a required quantity.
Blessing upon you!
PS!!! I'd just finished posting and I thought, I wonder what the Sencha brew and the Acai Green Tea brew would taste like together....I LOVE it! The Sencha mellows the berry and the berry mutes the grassiness. I like it better than just the Acai by itself! I added just a touch of NuStevia, a wonderful, no bitter alternative to the regular Stevia products on the market.
{Stevia is a natural sweetner found in the leaf of the plant. A great no calorie, natural sweetner alternative, but is known for it's bitter aftertaste. NuStevia boasts no bitter after taste, and I've found it to be a valid claim. However, I'd be careful which teas you try it with...it can change the taste of the tea.}
Well, isn't this neat! I think I just made my first perfect blend. (and trust~you~me, I've been doing a LOT of blending behind the scenes!) Yay!
Another thing~ the blend looks deceptively like my vibrant and refreshing Youthberry and Wild Orange Blossom blend by Teavana,,(almost a pink lemonade look to it~ which it taste nothing like!)..*humming sigh*, another tea talk for another day...
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